Research has shown that exercise can improve overall survival, treatment tolerability and quality of life for women with early-stage breast cancer. But what about women who are living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC)? Through a clinical trial, researchers are exploring whether the addition of exercise to standard treatment could hold promise for women living with MBC.
“We know that exercise improves a lot of outcomes in early-stage breast cancer, and it’s even associated with lower recurrence rates and improved survival,” says Komen-funded researcher and breast oncologist Tarah Ballinger, M.D. “All of those same outcomes also matter for women who are living with metastatic disease, maybe even more so.”
Through the Exercise in Metastatic Breast Cancer (EMBody) clinical trial, Dr. Ballinger and her team are investigating whether women living with stable, or indolent (slow growing) MBC can benefit from adding exercise to the current standard of care. The study is hoping to improve long-term outcomes for those living with MBC, a group often underrepresented in clinical trials. Dr. Ballinger is principal investigator for the EMBody trial.
“We’re specifically focusing on women who have indolent metastatic breast cancer, with the idea that these women may be poised to have the same impact of exercise on their outcomes as women who have early-stage breast cancer,” she explains.
The EMBody Clinical Trial
The EMBody trial is enrolling up to 100 women with indolent MBC who are not receiving chemotherapy and whose disease has not progressed in the past 12 months. Study participants will be split into two separate groups: one that participates in the exercise program and one control group that receives standard care.
Members of the exercise group will work individually with trained exercise physiologists for 60-minute sessions, three days a week, for 16 weeks. Under trainer supervision, they will complete a regimen that includes aerobic exercise, strength training, and balance and stretching exercises. Participants will also attend a virtual class where they will learn how to make exercise a habit, while addressing their personal motivators and barriers.
At the end of the 16-week period, participants’ fitness will be measured by a treadmill test. Researchers will then compare various measurements of the exercise group to the control group, including cardiovascular fitness, body composition, steps per day, minutes of physical activity and any recorded change of habits.
Aside from any improvements in fitness, researchers hope to learn more about how exercise changes body fat, muscle and strength for those with MBC; as well as how it changes patient-reported fatigue and quality of life. Study results will also measure how well participants stick with the exercise program and if it becomes a habit.
Providing Multiple Benefits
The EMBody trial began in January 2023 and is already showing promising results of how regular exercise can benefit women with MBC. Exercise improves physical functioning, which can help people with MBC potentially stay on their treatments longer and participate in the activities that they enjoy. But it doesn’t stop there.
“Exercise also improves the immune response and immune regulation,” explains Dr. Ballinger. “It’s anti-inflammatory and it can change the blood supply of tumors so that therapies can be delivered more effectively to them.”
Multiple studies have shown that exercise can also improve the overall mental health of women with breast cancer. Dr. Ballinger and her team hope the data collected in the EMBody study will add to this body of research.
Empowering Women with MBC
Dr. Ballinger says the greatest impact she has seen from the EMBody study is something that cannot be measured: patient empowerment. After completing the study, most participants are continuing with their own exercise regimens. Other observations made within the EMBody study confirm the exercise plan is working.
“We had a woman who was on oxygen who came off oxygen because of participating in the trial, Dr. Ballinger says. “Another woman could not do a single pushup when she started but could do 15 continuous pushups by the time she was done.”
Through the EMBody study, women with MBC are doing things they thought they could not do and learning how regular exercise can enhance their overall quality of life.
“In our study so far, the patients are doing awesome, and the biggest thing we keep hearing is they have greater confidence in their bodies,” Dr. Ballinger says. “I think a lot of that gets stolen by cancer and exercise is bringing that back for these women.”
Did you know? Nearly 70% of Komen’s funded research is focused on MBC and/or aggressive breast cancers.
